Baofeng radios are not what you think they are…

The majority of Baofeng handheld transceivers marketed in the U.S. are FCC Amateur radio service (ham) radios

That is, they are FCC-certified for operations on the 2 meters and 70 cm amateur radio service bands. Those bands are restricted for use by FCC-LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS. Though these radios can typically receive other VHF/UHF bands as well, it is ILLEGAL to transmit on those bands (such as FRS, GRMS, etc.).

Baofeng, the company, is pretty loose with its advertising about these radios. In the same sentence it will advertise ham radio, hiking, emergency communications, etc. See how typical Baofeng ads read on Amazon.

If you happen to be a licensed amateur (ham) radio operator, the above paragraph would be correct. But Baofeng knows very well that a huge percentage of its buyers are NOT hams. So it’s enabling illegal operations on other services. Full stop.

Why does Baofeng (and its competitors such as TIDRadio) do this? TO MAKE MORE MONEY.

There is no end in sight to what Baofeng is doing — until the FCC requires radios such as these be be 100% locked down from transmitting on the “illegal” bands.

As a ham radio operator, I listen on the other bands (FRS and GMRS), but have never transmitted. Reception (receiving) on any radio never requires a license. I have FCC-certified FRS and GMRS radios too.

Spectrum licensing and approvals are necessary to avoid an unregulated transmission free-for-alls. Every civilized country on this planet has its own “FCC.”

In the U.S. the FCC does indeed still have an enforcement division. Don’t get caught. Better yet, the CB, MURS, and FRS radio services do not require any licensing whatsoever. Just buy appropriately-certified radios and go for it. No programming required. They simply work out of the box.